The situation is dire.
The Braves face playoff elimination in the National League Division Series against the Dodgers with Game 3 on Sunday night at SunTrust Park. With so much on the line, manager Brian Snitker made a drastic move on the eve of the game by switching to left-hander Sean Newcomb as his starting pitcher.
Snitker said Friday that Kevin Gausman would start pending his availability after Game 2 on Friday.
However, on the plane ride back to Atlanta, after the Braves lost the first two games of the best-of-5 series in Los Angeles by a combined score of 9-0, Snitker began to consider the move.
“You know, the situation is kind of dire right now,” Snitker said Saturday. “We need to win. And not that Gausman doesn't give us that opportunity. We like how Newcomb matches up with them and the success that he's had against the Dodgers this year.
“So we're going to let Newcomb get the thing off the ground. And I talked to Kevin, and he was like, whatever we gotta do. And I talked to Newcomb, and Newcomb was actually really excited. He felt good about it. And I told him that we need you to get this thing off the ground. You don't need to take a no-hitter into the ninth inning with a strike left or whatever. We just want to get this thing flying and be all hands on deck.”
Newcomb pitched two innings against the Dodgers in Game 1 on Thursday night. He gave up no runs on only one hit. He walked one while recording two strikeouts in the Braves’ 6-0 loss. Newcomb threw only 25 pitches, 17 for strikes.
There has been more success against the Dodgers for Newcomb. Much more.
Newcomb came one strike away from a no-hitter on July 29 at SunTrust Park against the Dodgers.
“Yeah, definitely going to use that to my advantage,” Newcomb said Saturday. “And they can use that to their advantage too because they've seen me throw a lot of pitches. So it's going to go both ways. Go out there and use my strengths and attack them.”
Newcomb threw 134 pitches to come an out away from the no-hitter as he relied primarily on his fastball.
Snitker gave Newcomb a heads up that he was considering the move headed back in Atlanta with a 2-0 series deficit. He later discussed the move with general manager Alex Anthopoulos. The official word came Saturday afternoon after Snitker called both Newcomb and Gausman to break the news.
It’s easy to say the players will treat the game as any other in a long baseball season. However, the reality is there is so much more at stake. The Braves are one loss away from elimination and a short postseason stay.
“I’d say nothing more than just making me a little more fired up to get out there and attack their lineup,” Newcomb said of the gravity of the Braves’ predicament.
Newcomb struggled following the near no-hitter. In his final 10 appearances of the regular season, including nine starts, he went 2-4 with a 5.68 ERA. He temporarily lost his spot in the rotation before the Braves left on a season-ending six-game trip, one that ultimately cost them home-field advantage. A postseason start seemed unlikely, even with his success against the Dodgers.
Snitker said the final determination for the move was how Newcomb matches up against the Dodgers.
“I think more so Newcomb's had some success against them,” Snitker said. “The start here obviously, the two innings in relief were really good, were strong. It's kind of like he's thrown better recently than he had all September. And I think that's the big factor is like he's -- the way he's throwing right now is kind of how we remembered in stretches all year. So I think that had a lot to do with it.”
Snitker said Gausman will be available out of the bullpen for Game 3. He added that all his pitchers would be available for the elimination game, except Game 1 starter Mike Foltynewicz. The right-hander lasted only two innings and 50 pitches in the opener and could be called on to start Game 4 on Monday, if necessary.
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